David Niepel has enjoyed success on the field and in the classroom throughout his career.

Tampa Leads Way With Three Academic All-District Selections

October 31, 2013

MCLEAN, Va. - The University of Tampa led the way in District 5 with three 2013-14 Capital One Academic All-District® Men’s Soccer players, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. David Niepel, Daniel Barboto and Craig Laird were among the 12 selections.

The list has been released to recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Capital One has been the entitlement rights holder to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America teams programs since 2011.

Niepel, a graduate student and four-year starting goalkeeper for the Spartans, is majoring in finance. Teammates Barboto and Laird, both juniors, major in pre-med and marketing. All three are starters for the Spartans, who have appeared in the national rankings in 2013. Niepel is now a three-time academic all-district performer while Barboto earns the honor for the second straight year. Laird earns the recognition for the first time.

The Academic All-District ® teams include the student-athletes listed on the following pages and are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the second year of the expanded Academic All-America® program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All-America ® Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.

The Capital One Division II and III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2013-14 DII and DIII Academic All-America® teams program.

First-team Academic All-District ® honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $216.5 billion in deposits and $294.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of March 31, 2012. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One and ING Direct offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.